Contents

Life

Little is known of his life. He seems to have taught in the
schools of Paris, and he attended the Lateran Council in 1179.
He afterwards inhabited Montpellier (he is sometimes called
Alanus de Montepessulano), lived for a time
outside the walls of any cloister, and finally retired to Citeaux,
where he died in 1202.

He had a very widespread reputation during his lifetime and his
knowledge, more varied than profound, caused him to be called
Doctor universalis. Among his very numerous works two
poems entitle him to a distinguished place in the Latin
literature of the Middle Ages; one of these, the De planctu
naturae, is an ingenious satire on the vices of humanity. He
created the allegory of grammatical "conjugation" which was to have
its successors throughout the Middle Ages. The
Anticlaudianus, a treatise on morals as allegory, the form of which recalls the
pamphlet of Claudian against Rufinus, is agreeably versified and
relatively pure in its latinity.

Theologian

As a theologian Alain de Lille shared in the mystic reaction of
the second half of the 12th century against the scholastic
philosophy. His mysticism, however, is far from being as
absolute as that of the Victorines. In the Anticlaudianus
he sums up as follows: Reason, guided by prudence, can unaided
discover most of the truths of the physical order; for the
apprehension of religious truths it must trust to faith. This rule
is completed in his treatise, Ars catholicae fidei, as
follows: Theology itself may be demonstrated by reason. Alain even
ventures an immediate application of this principle, and tries to
prove geometrically the dogmas defined in the Creed. This bold attempt is entirely factitious
and verbal, and it is only his employment of various terms not
generally used in such a connection (axiom, theorem, corollary, etc.) that gives his treatise its
apparent originality.

Works and
attributions

Alain de Lille has often been confounded with other persons
named Alain, in particular with another Alanus (Alain, bishop of Auxerre), Alan, abbot of
Tewkesbury, Alain de Podio, etc. Certain facts of their lives have
been attributed to him, as well as some of their works: thus the
Life of St Bernard should be ascribed to Alain of Auxerre
and the Commentary upon Merlin to Alan of Tewkesbury. Alan of Lille was not
the author of a Memoriale rerum difficilium, published
under his name, nor of Moralium dogma
philosophorum, nor of the satirical Apocalypse of Golias once
attributed to him; and it is exceedingly doubtful whether the
Dicta Alani de lapide philosophico really issued from his
pen. On the other hand, it now seems practically demonstrated that
Alain de Lille was the author of the Ars catholicae fidei
and the treatise Contra haereticos.

In his sermons on capital sins, Alain argued that sodomy and homicide are the most
serious sins, since they call forth the wrath of God, which led to
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. His chief work
on penance, the Liber poenitenitalis dedicated to Henry de Sully,
exercised great influence on the many manuals of penance produced
as a result of the Fourth Lateran
Council. Alain's identification of the sins against nature
included bestiality, masturbation, oral and anal intercourse,
incest, adultery and rape. In addition to his battle against moral
decay, Alan wrote a work against Islam, Judaism and Christian heretics dedicated to
William VIII of Montpellier.

Quotes

• God is an intelligible sphere whose centre is everywhere and
whose circumference is nowhere.

From LoveToKnow 1911

'ALAIN DE LILLE' [Alanus
de Insulis] (c. 1128-1202), French theologian and poet, was
born, probably at Lille, some years, before 1128. Little is known
of his life. He seems to have taught in the schools of Paris, and he attended the Lateran
Council in 1179. He afterwards inhabited Montpellier (he is sometimes called
Alanus de Montepessulano), lived for a time outside the
walls of any cloister, and
finally retired to Citeaux, where he died in 1 202. He had a very
widespread reputation during his lifetime and his knowledge, more
varied than profound, caused him to be: called Doctor universalis. Among his very
numerous works two poems entitle him to a distinguished place in
the Latin literature of the middle
ages; one of these, the De planctu naturae, is an
ingenious satire on the vices
of humanity; the other, the Anticlaudianus, a treatise on
morals, the form of which recalls the pamphlet of Claudian against
Rufinus, is agreeably versified and relatively pure in its
latinity. As a theologian Alain de Lille shared in the mystic
reaction of the second half of the 12th century against the
scholastic philosophy.
His mysticism, however,
is far from being as absolute as that of the Victorines. In. the
Anticlaudianus he sums up as follows: Reason, guided by
prudence, can unaided discover most of the truths of the physical
order; for the apprehension of religious truths it must
trust to faith. This rule is
completed in his treatise, Ars catholicae fidei,. as
follows: Theology itself
may be demonstrated by reason. Alain even ventures an immediate
application of this principle, and tries to prove geometrically the
dogmas defined in the Creed. This bold attempt is entirely
factitious and verbal, and it is only his employment of various
terms not generally used in such a connexion (axiom, theorem,
corollary, etc.) that gives his treatise' its apparent originality.
Alain de Lille has often been confounded with other persons named
Alain, in particular with' Alain, archbishop of Auxerre, Alan, abbot of Tewkesbury, Alain de Podio, etc. Certain
facts of their lives have been attributed' to him, as well as some
of their works: thus the Life of St Bernard should be
ascribed to Alain of Auxerre and the Commentary upon Merlin to Alan of
Tewkesbury. Neither is the philosopher of Lille the author of a
Memoriale rerum difficilium, published under his name; and
it is exceedingly doubtful whether the DictaAlani de lapide
philosophico really issued from his pen. On the other hand, it now
seems practically demonstrated that Alain de Lille was the author
of the Ars catholicae fidei and the treatise Contra
haereticos. The works of Alain de Lille have been published by
Migne, Patrologia latina, vol. ccx. A critical edition of
the Anticlaudianus and of the De planctu naturae
is given by Th. Wright in vol. ii. of the Anglo-Latin Satirical
Poets and Epigrammatists of the Twelfth Century (London,
1872). See Haureau, Memoire sur la vie et quelques oeuvres
d'Alain de Lille (Paris, 1885); M. Baumgartner, Die
Philosophie des Alanus de Insulis (Munster, 1896). (P. A.)